Hokori
by Konnie-chan
Summary: Ever wondered why Kyoto is such a quiet district? Here's my theory...RR please


A/N: Hi again!!! Hey, since I wrote a Tsusoka last time, I thought I'd write a Tatari. This also has been going around in my head for quite some time now. And it's longer than my usual one-shot. It's told from two different points in time; one a little more reflective than the other and both from Tatsumi's perspective. There's a hint at Tsusoka too, but just that.   
  
I think there's a bit of fluff here though; but just a bit. And this is even less angsty that my last one-shot. What's happening to me?!? *cries*  
  
Sorry for writing confusing fics. T.T For all the neglected Tatari fans out there!!  
  
I had to fix this. I was soooo anxious to post it I didn't notice the load of typos. They were enough to make you cringe!!And it was spell checked!! T.T Sorry,,,  
  
BTW, Hokori, means pride. I just thought it was a nice word and fitting for some reason.  
  
Enjoy!!  
  
HOKORI  
  
It was a rainy, sinister looking night. As if nature had decided to put her two cents to make the atmosphere just right.  
  
Overly dramatic and clichéd as far as he was concerned.  
  
A few deafening thunders and the rain started to pour harder. But it was dark, and that was always a good thing for him. Already, a few shadows were visible twirling around him, ready to attack.   
  
He clenched his trench coat tighter to his body to keep the chilly air out and stepped into the alley were his prey was supposed to appear.  
  
--------------------------  
  
"Tsuzuki and Hisoka..." Tatsumi Seiichirou, the chief's secretary and most mysterious and frightening of shinigamis out there, looked at the pair sitting by one of the windows of the break room.  
  
Hisoka, as usual, was blushing, arms crossed over his chest with an annoyed expression on his face, while Tsuzuki insisted on using his earlobe as a chewing toy.  
  
"Tsuzuki!" the secretary yelled, eyes flaming. The purpled eyed man pouted and released his tortured partner. He mumbled something Tatsumi was grateful he hadn't heard and pretended to pay attention.  
  
So Tatsumi continued.  
  
"You and Hisoka have to track down the soul of a woman who went missing after she died a week ago. The assignment should be easy enough. She died in a car accident. Most likely she's just not aware of being dead..."  
  
Tsuzuki's attention span didn't last enough for him to hear what came next though, as he found amusement in tracing a finger up and down his partner's arm.  
  
'It's hopeless; he's hopeless.' Tatsumi reflected, sighing.  
  
------------------------  
  
Why was he there?   
  
He could recite the details of the case in his sleep; going through just how dangerous this body-snatching demon was and for how long he'd been tracking him down.  
  
But there was no one else around. It wasn't like *he'd* find out. No reason to lie then, right? Right...  
  
The truth, plain and simple, was that he shouldn't have been there. Shouldn't being the key word here. It wasn't like there was anyone who'd dare tell him what he *could* do. But there was still rules to be followed. The status quo that he so fervently demanded of others to respect.  
  
He'd worked so hard to be in a position of power; in a place where he didn't have to submit to other's idiocy or dubious judgement.   
  
'And here I am;' he thought, with a fond smile, 'being an idiot myself again, doing something for what I'd fire anyone else.'  
  
--------------------------  
  
He wasn't going to use his trade-mark pointing stick that morning. He'd decided it even before going to bed the day before; but he hadn't thought that people would notice.  
  
He should have, though. The life of a shinigami is, above all, filled with routine. Yes, you can try to be spontaneous for a decade or two, but eventually there will be patterns; whether you like it or not.   
  
While he was briefing Terazuma and Wakaba, Tsuzuki kept whispering into Hisoka's ear, pointing not so subtly at him and doing gestures with his hand. Hisoka, of course, batted the baka's hand away and shrugged.   
  
But what annoyed Tatsumi the most- apart from the sting in his shoulder that had led him to such decision- was being, as he was, the center of attention for once in a morning meeting, because he was deprived of the benefit of staring and observing the other attendants.  
  
Specially one of them, who usually spend meetings half asleep but now was staring at him with a frown.  
  
----------------------  
  
He'd never been good with feelings. They were treacherous things that messed with one's judgement and blinded them. Feelings were responsible for every single mistake in his life; as well as his after life.   
  
When he started working as a shinigami, he promised himself that he would never let his feelings cloud his reasoning, *ever* again. But over the years, once and again his emotions had played dirty with him.  
  
It was because of that, that he'd ended his partnership with Tsuzuki. Because he'd lost control of his emotions.   
  
After that, Tatsumi had made a new promise. He'd never have a partner again. He'd never get attached again. And then *he* came.  
  
-------------------  
  
"I guess that's all for today." Tatsumi sat on top of the desk and begun handing the files of the cases assigned to everyone as they passed towards the door.   
  
Hisoka and Tsuzuki were almost the last to leave. The young man was blushing furiously and trying to swat Tsuzuki away while he whispered god knows what obscenity into his ear.   
  
Tatsumi shook his head, displeased, and took Tsuzuki by the arm forcefully, placing him mere inches away from his face. He noted amusedly how Tsuzuki's eyes widened as he leaned closer as if to kiss him, just to avoid his face and aim for his ear a moment later.   
  
"*Get* *a* *room*." he hissed, threateningly.   
  
Blushing even more than what Hisoka had been doing a moment before, Tsuzuki backed away slowly, nodding his head robotically. Hisoka threw him a thankful look and led Tsuzuki by the hand.   
  
Once the door closed behind them, he heard the pitiful cry of his ex-partner.  
  
"He's so mean, 'Soka!!!!"  
  
Tatsumi couldn't keep the smile away from his face. He lifted his eyes and saw Watari smirking at him.  
  
"You are mean; he's right." the scientist chirped.  
  
Tatsumi shrugged, and winced as he was reminded of why he shouldn't be shrugging.   
  
"It's not my fault he's so easy." he deadpanned. Watari chuckled.  
  
"I supposed you're right! Poor bon, though."  
  
----------------------------   
  
*He* was everything he'd loved about Tsuzuki and more, and at first all he could see were the similarities with his ex-partner. Twenty six years later, Tatsumi had no idea how he could ever find them remotely alike.  
  
*He* was so full of life, even though he'd been dead for longer than what he'd ever lived. There was no question of why he'd become a shinigami. Unlike the rest of them, for him there was no traumatic past, no unfinished business.   
  
'At least, not that I know of.'   
  
He was just in love with life. He radiated it; his joy was utterly contagious and he'd often wondered what would the Shokan division be like without him and his antics. He shuddered as the rain, against all odds, started to pour harder; though that wasn't the real reason.   
  
'A sad place, for sure.'  
  
The reason he was doing this? To keep him there; to keep him happy.   
  
He was doing it for the same reason that Tsuzuki would always find pastries in the break room every morning, whether he kept cutting his funding or not.   
  
'It's the only way I know how to prove that I... care about him.'   
  
To caught up with his thoughts, Tatsumi failed to notice the one shadow that wasn't under his control, lurking behind him.  
  
----------------------  
  
"What's that?" Watari looked at him curiously, with 003 perched on his shoulder, both cocking their heads and making Tatsumi want to laugh.  
  
"What's what?" Tatsumi asked confused, looking to see if by chance he had a coffee stain on his suit or something of the sort.  
  
"That thing you're doing with your shoulder." Watari took a step closer and aimed to touch his shoulder with one finger, for what Tatsumi backed away rather violently, hitting his lower back with the edge of the desk and cursing between his teeth. Watari burst out laughing. "I'm not going to rape you!! I'm not Muraki!"  
  
"I know!" he hissed, trying to see the positive side. His lower back now hurt enough for him to forget about his shoulder. "I...it's just... I slept in a crappy position last night and..." he stammered. He *was* a good liar; he'd just been caught off guard.   
  
Again.  
  
-------------------------  
  
The demon struck without warning or mercy. From behind too. Who said demons didn't have honour?   
  
It wasn't an easy bust; by the end of the fight he'd been bleeding way too much to see straight. But eventually, he managed to beat him, to choke him with one of his shadows and enjoy every little scream and squirm he made before the bastard went back to hell where he belonged.  
  
After that, he gathered every ounce of strength he had left and led the soul of the little boy whose body had been used by the demon back to Meifuu with him.  
  
He wouldn't dream of making the one he loved have to kill a demon in a child's body; or a grown up for that fact. He didn't want to see that haunted look he so often saw in Tsuzuki's eyes, ever clouding his.   
  
'Though I can't keep him away from it always, I certainly can do a bit of filtering.'  
  
After all, all assignments *did* go through his hands first.  
  
He wasn't seriously worried about his safety; he was more than capable of taking care of himself. And a part of him knew he wasn't as sensitive or vulnerable as Tsuzuki. He *knew* he wasn't; and yet Tatsumi wouldn't take any chances.  
  
And though he wished he'd been able to do this back in the day where he and Tsuzuki were partners; and though he'd still think about his ex-partner with a hint of longing and regret, *he* was always there to make him feel better and remind him that Tsuzuki wasn't alone anymore.  
  
--------------------  
  
Watari's face softened and he gingerly traced the sore shoulder.  
  
"Does it hurt much?" he said, with a concerned look on his face.  
  
"No. Not really. It should be ok in a few hours. It's definitively better than when I got up." he lied again.  
  
Watari scolded him with his eyes, though Watari's angry looks were hardly to ever take seriously.  
  
"It's that cheap mattress of yours, I tell you!! Sleep is important; you can't save money at the expense of your health!"  
  
He shook his head, a half smile playing at his lips.  
  
"It's not the mattress and you know it, Watari. I slept awfully because of the stress of having to fix the budget after you blew up the lab for the Nth time this month."  
  
The scientist huffed and removed a strand of hair that had fallen over his eyes.  
  
"I thought that was coming out of my pay check?" he said with a wince.  
  
Now Tatsumi did laugh.  
  
"What pay check?! You owe more than a year of salary!"  
  
He watched the blonde blink a few times; he could almost hear the few brain cells that still worked in that pretty little head doing the calculations. Then, Watari just grinned from ear to ear and scratched his head.  
  
"I guess you're right!" then he came closer to Tatsumi, with a mischievous look in his eyes. "I could pay you back, you know?"  
  
Tatsumi attempted to back away, to stop against the desk once more.  
  
"You...you can? H- how?"  
  
Watari put on a seductive face and Tatsumi had to swallow hard before he could take another breath.  
  
"I have other means... I could use my body..." the blond said in a husky voice and Tatsumi had to check himself for nosebleeds.  
  
--------------------  
  
One of his smiles was enough to light up his day. The idea of seeing him smile at an idea for a new mad experiment, made the searing pain threatening to make him lose consciousness, more than worthy.  
  
He was way too flirtatious and affectionate with everyone. The way he moved, smiled, touched his hair...everything; it was just sinful. But he also had one of the biggest hearts he'd ever seen, atop one of the brightest- if somewhat deluded- minds.  
  
He was an accident waiting to happen. You can take a guess as to who'd be the victim.  
  
He couldn't be sure, but he thought their relationship was different. That with him... Sometimes it seemed like he was sending him a sign; that maybe he had feelings for him too.  
  
But he could never tell him. Would never tell him. That would mean letting his emotions rule again and he'd never do that.  
  
---------------------  
  
"Tatsumi!! Don't be such a baby!!" Watari cried, backing away as a few shadows started to move around him. "I was just offering a massage!! What did you think I was talking about?!"  
  
"I suggest you go back to work, Watari." he said, his tone even, trying to hide the blush creeping to his face. "*Now*!"  
  
"Awww, C'mon Seiichirou!!" Watari whined. "At least let me rub some ointment on that!!"  
  
"If you're not out of that door in five seconds, the next time you see a test tube it will be cold in hell."  
  
"Tatsu..."  
  
"Five; four; three;..."  
  
"Ok! Ok! I'm going! Man, such a temper...huff."  
  
"And Watari?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Don't you dare work on those experiments of yours. Do some real work for a change. I don't care for useless, money wasting, employees."  
  
"Now! That was uncalled for!!" The blond waved a finger at him. "It's not my fault Kyoto is so quiet!!"  
  
"So you say. I'm sure the demons just stay away from your district because they are afraid you'll turn them into puppies." Tatsumi said, smiling at the thought.  
  
Watari rubbed his chin in meditation before nodding reflectively.   
  
"You know? You may be right!" he smiled brilliantly then. "See? My potions aren't useless after all!!"  
  
Tatsumi shook his head in defeat.  
  
"Wanna have lunch with me?" he asked casually, though his heartbeat speeded up just a notch.  
  
"Sure!" Watari cheered, and 003 hooted. "Same time, same place?"   
  
Tatsumi nodded and watched him go, with a genuine smile on his face.  
  
As he was about to leave, he heard the fax machine as a new request for a case was sent from his superiors.   
  
-----------------------  
  
Staggering with a pretty nasty whole on his shoulder, courtesy of the demonic bastard, he walked into his apartment around midnight and finally slumped on his bed, surrendering to a more than needed sleep that would help heal his body and clear his thoughts.  
  
'Tomorrow is going to be one hell of a hell of a day', he mused sleepily. But he figured asking Watari for lunch would be reward enough.  
  
As he drifted off, he idly wondered what would everyone think of the stuck up, money grabbing secretary were they to find out about this.   
  
--------------------------  
  
~"Request form:  
  
Investigation regarding: Possible demon possession.  
  
Object of investigation: Mako Shinji.  
  
Location: Kyoto city.  
  
Urgent."~  
  
Tatsumi eyed his watch. He had three hours until lunch break.  
  
~Owari~  
  
Like it? Good, review...NOW! *glare* ^.^ 


End file.
